Hi,
It's the first day of summer - and wet, wet, wet here.
My mother and I had a wonderful weekend sampling the delights that Golden Bay has to offer. It all started on Thursday evening where I had booked in a haircut meaning that Mike had to start Gilbert Logistics a day earlier than anticipated. I think of Gilbert Logistics as an organisation involved in making mountains out of molehills. If Gilbert Logistics can make an easy task difficult, they will find it. Send us all your easy, straight-forwards jobs and we guarantee to put a spanner in the works. You have a plan that only has 3 permutations? That's not nearly enough. Send us your details and we'll supply you with 5 free permutations at no extra cost. In fact, we are so good at it, we can almost guarantee a permutation or two, WITHOUT knowing your plans at all.
Mike actually had a tight leash on the Gilbert Logistics machine and kept the plan on a well-executed course. We met up at the library and ate Burger Wisconsin in the brilliant sunshine with the O'Reillys. I had already packed for the weekend so there was no rush in that regard. Lucky for us, because I had spanner item number one waiting. I had decided to attend the First Karori Scout Annual General Meeting for the evening. It was supposed to last one hour, but took two! Mike had Toby under control and I went off to represent the Keas at the AGM. When I got home Mike and I read until past midnight. What were we thinking?
Friday morning I was up earlier than usual because Mum was driving to collect me at 6.40am in time for the ferry check-in at 7am. I drove down to the dock and we got on nice and quick. We got seats in front of the TV and we were pleasantly surprised to see they have updated their movie list for the summer crowds. We watched two newish movies - 17 Again and Race to Witch Mountain. It filled in the time. Mike told us off for not getting out to enjoy the scenery and I guess I am guilty of taking it for granted through the sounds.
We drove off the ferry at about 11.30am and headed up Queen Charlotte Drive to Havelock. Mum kept Oooohhing and Aaahhhing with every curve when she got a glimpse of the views down the sounds. We drove non-stop to Nelson where we wandered around the main street for 30 minutes giving our legs a good stretch. Then we picked up a few items at the supermarket and headed over Takaka Hill to Golden Bay. The hill went up and up for ages and a steep plunge down into the valley on the other side. I wasn't going to be heading back and forth over that hill as I had entertained notions of doing. We found our accommodation
at the Pohara Top Ten Holiday Camp very easily and our wee cabin was 3m from the sandy beach. Perfect. Mum stretched out on the bed and fell into a coma. I read one of several books I had along for the weekend and watched the wind whipping up the waves outside.
We wandered out to the Penguin Cafe for dinner - I ordered steamed mussels and Mum ordered Thai fish cakes. There was a little confusion over the food and I got my mussels as a main after Mum finished her entree fish cakes. I blame Ma talking to the waitress about Scotland. The wee lass had spent two years in
the Shetland Islands and actually thought Mum was English. Heheheheheh. I guess her mellowed accent bears little resemblance to the accent they use in the Shetlands.
After dinner we booked into Sans Souci for the next night. Sally had recommended it from her holiday here about 18 months earlier. Ma tried to get into the Sunday night bookings as they were serving veal on that night, but they were full. So, Saturday evening it was, and their slow-cooked steak. We went back to the cabin and it was my turn to fall into a coma. The rain started but I never heard a thing. Slept like a log until morning. Pleasant.
Saturday morning was a lazy start to the day. The rain and wind didn't do much for us, and we were waiting for the weather to improve after lunch as the forecasters had predicted. Guess what? They were right. We went out into Takaka to explore the shops and found them all shutting. They aren't open very late at the weekends. We managed to get into a few of them and Mum loved some of the art work on display. After that we drove back past Pohara out to the edge of the Abel Tasman National Park. The coastal road was very, very pretty.
Back to our wee cabin and we got ready for Sans Souci and wandered around there just before 7pm. The other guests started arriving then too. We then had the slow-cooked steak and it was one of the best meals I have ever had, and certainly the best in a long time. The steak was on a bed of risotto with salad all around (including marigold petals - nice colour). Yummy bacon, yummy mushrooms, yummy nuts, yummy apple. It all tasted so good. Thank you for that one, Sally! Not one speck was left on my plate. Mum left a bit on hers so I got to nibble more as we waited for dessert. Mum ordered Chocolate and Almond torte with vanilla ice cream and raspberry coulis. It was superb. I was happy Mum couldn't eat all that. During the meal, the weather got better and better. The wind died away and blue skies shone brightly through the polonia tree in the courtyard. The French doors were open all evening and the dining was a great experience.
Anyhow, another source of excitement at Sans Souci was the composting toilets. Sally had made sure I knew about them. So despite not needing a wee in the slightest, I told Mum I was off to investigate them. I went into the shared toilets, found an empty louvered door and lifted the wooden lid. What a treat. No smell at all. A big bucket of peaty sawdust to cover whatever you have done and wash up outside in the nice shared bathroom. Very pleasant. I went back to the dining table and told Mum she had to experience it for herself. With misgivings, I watched my confused mother try and find a toilet. But when she got back, she declared the toilets great and would use one over a normal toilet. She didn't just say there was no smell, she said she liked the smell!
When I was up with Mum while she sorted out the bill, I spotted the names of some other diners. Kittos! Imagine! Well, Mum didn't imagine. Off she went, hunting them down and chatted to them for ages. So, ask her for the life history of this New Zealand branch of the Kitto clan.
After dinner we walked up and down the beach at dusk, waiting for any penguins to come ashore. No sign of any. But Ma and I had fun sitting on driftwood logs watching the beautiful sea lap up against the shore with moonlight glistening on the wee waves. Back home for another deep sleep.
Sunday dawned - well, a lot earlier than I saw it. But, by the time I pulled back the curtains for a look, I could tell it was a cracker day. I got dressed into shorts and a t-shirt and wandered down to the Penguin Cafe for the rugby. Go the All Blacks! Ate bacon and eggs and shouted encouragement at the team. Marvellous. Ma turned up about 20 mins from the end and ordered whitebait fritter sandwiches. She had a taste and I got to finish them. Yummo! They were absolutely beautiful.
Off to explore Pupu Springs (or Waikoropupu I think) and I have to say, this was a highlight for me. What a spectacular sight. The water colour was amazing and I hope I never forget it. Apparently, these springs are the largest freshwater springs in Australasia and the clearest freshwater springs in the world! What a claim to fame there! Mum and I walked around the boardwalk reading the informative signs and enjoying the surroundings. The sunny day no doubt gave the springs an even better visual impact. But I can't wait to take Mike there so he can see it.
Back to the cabin to relax in the sun and read. What a pleasant afternoon.
Monday morning was back to rain. Heavy rain. So we packed up and left for the drive back to the ferry. We went right through to close to Blenheim to the Wairau River winery where Mum found two white wines to her liking. She bought two bottles and we ate a muffin and drove the rest of the way into Picton. We
were early so we poked our noses into Picton town centre and then joined the queue for the ferry. There was a 90 minute delay getting away for some reason and we also had to pick up a lifeboat on the way (they had abandoned it during drills earlier that day). Mum went out to see the scenery and I also popped out from time to time (the same movies were on!). The misty weather gave it a haunting feel.
Back into Wellington in time for the going-to-bed routine. I caught up with the news from Mike and Toby from the weekend. Toby swam well and assessment is this Saturday coming. Yikes! Mike says he swam like a machine. Good on him! Sally got back ok from the work meeting in Manila but I have yet to hear in detail about that! Dad was a bit sick yesterday and went home to pine/wait for Ma. Poor Dad.
So, back into the routine already. But a short week for me! Hooray!
Love,
Angela
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